Sweet Black Beans Recipes

SWEET BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse the dried beans. In a deep bowl, mix the 3 cups water and baking soda, stirring to dissolve the baking soda. Add the beans and let them soak, completely submerged, at room temperature for at least 8 hours or preferably 10 to 12 hours (if it is very warm in your kitchen, soak the beans in the refrigerator for 24 hours). As the beans soak, they will swell to several times their original size. To make sure they remain moist throughout the soaking, dampen sarashi or several layers of finely woven gauze or cheesecloth and place directly on the soaking beans.
• Transfer the swollen beans and what remains of their soaking water to a deep 3-quart pot. If the beans are no longer covered with water, add water as needed to cover them. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Skim away any aku (froth, scum, or film) with a fine-mesh skimmer and add water as needed to cover the beans by about 1 inch. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady, not-too-vigorous simmer. Place the cloth you used when soaking the beans on top of the simmering beans. The cloth will become discolored, but if it is sarashi or other sturdy muslinlike cloth, it can be reused for the same purpose several times. If you have an otoshi-buta or other flat lid slightly smaller in diameter than the rim of the pot, place it on top of the cloth.
• Cook the beans for 2 hours, checking the intensity of the heat and the water level every 15 to 20 minutes. Ideally, the beans will gently simmer in water that barely covers them. Throughout, keep the surface of the beans moist with the cloth (and otoshi-buta).
• As the beans cook, some skins may loosen and a few beans may split, but neither is a good indication of tenderness. To check for tenderness, take a bean from the pot, and when cool enough to handle comfortably, hold it between your thumb and pinkie and press gently. It should yield easily. (This pinch test is accurate because the pinkie is usually a "weak" finger and can exert less pressure in the pinch. If a simmered bean can yield to this weaker pressure, you can be sure it is tender.) Cooking times will vary tremendously with the age and variety of the soybean. On some occasions, I have had to cook beans for 4 or more hours. Continue to cook the beans, checking the water level frequently and adding water as needed to keep the beans barely covered, until they are completely tender. At this point, the beans and their cooking liquid can be immediately transferred to a glass jar, covered with the cloth, then with a tight-fitting lid, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. (Before closing the jar, make sure none of the beans is exposed to air.)
• Make the syrup: Combine the sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a deep, heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup. This should take about 10 minutes. During this reduction process the bubbles will become quite frothy.
• When ready to combine the syrup and beans, remove the otoshi-buta and cloth from the beans in the saucepan or open the jar and peel back the cloth and transfer to a heavy pot. Add the syrup, replace the cloth, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the beans are barely covered with the syrup.
• Remove from the heat and allow the beans to cool to room temperature in the syrup. During the cooling process, the sweetness of the syrup penetrates to the core of the beans. Make sure the beans are covered with the cloth as they cool to avoid excessive wrinkling of their skins.
• Peel back the cloth, add the soy sauce to the cooled syrup (it will mellow the intense sweetness), and stir to distribute well. Replace the cloth and place the pot over low heat. Bring the syrup slowly to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Allow the cloth-covered beans and syrup to cool to room temperature again. It is in this final cooling process that the flavors develop and meld.
• Set the beans aside to cool completely, then transfer them with their syrup to a clean glass jar. Seal with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 10 days. If you wish to store the beans for an extended time, use heatproof canning jars and process in a boiling-water bath as you would a jam or jelly, then store the cooled jars in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

ROBIN'S SWEET AND SPICY BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook about 2 minutes; then stir in garlic, and cook until onion is soft and translucent. Stir in tomatoes, cilantro, and sugar. Season with cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, and ground cinnamon. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in black beans, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour or longer.

BLACK BEAN-SWEET POTATO SKILLET

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add the beans, sweet potatoes, broth, chipotle, pepper and cinnamon., Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Uncover and simmer 5-10 minutes longer or until potatoes are very tender and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package directions. Serve with black bean mixture.

SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN RICE BOWLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sweet potato cubes on a large sheet tray and liberally drizzle with the coconut oil, then sprinkle with the coriander and a good amount of salt. Toss and spread out into a flat, even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, toss, then bake until golden and tender, another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together the rinsed rice, 4 cups water, bay leaf and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring up to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium and cook until all of the liquid has absorbed, about 5 minutes. Let sit uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Spoon the cooked rice into a large bowl then add the lime zest and juice, jalapeño, cilantro and black beans. Toss together, then taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
• To serve, scoop some of the rice and bean mixture into a shallow bowl, then top with some of the roasted sweet potatoes, sliced avocado, cilantro sprigs, sliced jalapeños and a lime wedge.

SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN TACOS

Steps:

• Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Toss the prepared sweet potatoes with the olive oil, cayenne pepper (if using) and salt. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until the sweet potatoes are tender and caramelizing at the edges.
• Prepare the black beans: Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the cumin and chili powder and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring. Pour in the beans and water. Stir, cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Cook for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and use a potato masher or a fork to mash up at least half of the beans. Remove from heat, stir in the vinegar, season with salt (I added over 1/4 teaspoon) and pepper, and cover until you're ready to serve.
• Make the avocado dip: First, toast the pepitas in a skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until they are fragrant and starting to make little popping noises, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Scoop the avocado flesh into a food processor or blender. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, water and salt. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor/blender as necessary. Add almost all of the pepitas (reserve a few tablespoons for garnish) and process just until the pepitas are chopped into small pieces (some remaining texture is desirable). Taste, and add more salt if necessary. Transfer the dip to a small bowl for serving.
• To warm the tortillas, heat a large skillet over medium heat and warm the tortillas in batches, flipping to warm each side. Alternatively, you can warm them directly over a low flame on a gas range. Stack the warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.
• To assemble the tacos, spread black beans down the middle of each tortilla, then top with some sweet potatoes and avocado-pepita dip. Garnish with feta, pepitas, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Repeat with remaining tortillas and serve.

HOW TO COOK BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• First, pick through your black beans for debris (sometimes tiny rocks can sneak in). Place the beans in a fine mesh colander or sieve and rinse very well. Pour the beans into a large Dutch oven or saucepan (4 quarts or larger in capacity).
• Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, salt, cumin, orange zest and red pepper flakes (if using) to the pot. Pour in the water.
• Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Remove the lid and reduce the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. Give the beans a stir to make sure none are stuck to the bottom of the pot, and set a timer for 1 hour. Leave the pot uncovered and adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer (you should see several small bubbles popping to the surface at any given moment).
• Once the timer goes off, test a couple of beans by using a fork to press them against the side of the pot. If they're easy to press through, taste a few (carefully! they're hot!) to see if they're sufficiently plump, tender and delicious.
• Otherwise, continue cooking, testing in 15 to 30 minute intervals as needed, until they're done. If you're running low on liquid, add water in 1-cup increments so the beans are covered at all time. (As mentioned in the post, if your beans are old, they can take several hours to cook and require a lot more water, and some very old beans may never cook through.)
• Once the beans are very tender and tasty, you can increase the heat a little to reduce the cooking liquid into a more gravy-like consistency, about 5 to 15 minutes (it will continue to thicken up as the beans cool).
• Remove the pot from the heat. Carefully remove the orange zest and both bay leaves. Use a fork to press the garlic against the side of the bowl to break it up. Add the cilantro, if using, and lime juice. Stir to combine. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed. Use as desired.
• Allow leftover beans to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze leftover beans for several months.***

SWEET POTATO-BLACK BEAN TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine sweet potatoes, paprika, garlic powder, salt and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender and browned, about 25 minutes, flipping and tossing halfway through.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup of the bean mixture to the baking sheet with the sweet potatoes; toss to combine.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the remaining bean mixture in the skillet over medium-high heat; stir and mash the bean mixture with the back of a fork or a potato masher until it's almost smooth but some bean chunks remain. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice.
• To serve, spread 1 1/2 tablespoons mashed bean mixture onto each tortilla and spoon 2 tablespoons sweet potato mixture over the bean mixture. Top evenly with queso fresco and sliced avocado. Add sour cream, salsa, pepitas and/or cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

SWEET ONION BLACK BEAN DIP

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat add the oil, onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook the onions until they are very soft and smell sweet, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
• In a blender or bowl of a food processor, combine the cooked onions, drained black beans, and sour cream. Add 2 tablespoons of water, and then blend. If the mixture is having trouble blending, add one or two more tablespoons of water to help it along.
• Taste, and then season with salt and lime. Serve or follow directions for baked black bean dip below.
• For a baked dip, transfer the bean dip to a small baking dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until the dip is warmed through and the cheese has melted on top, about 10 minutes.

SWEET POTATO-BLACK BEAN QUESADILLAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine cubed sweet potatoes, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and a generous amount of salt and cracked pepper in a bowl. Spread cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, stir, flip, and return to the oven to bake until tender, 10 to 12 more minutes. Taste and season with additional salt if required.
• Lay out one tortilla on a flat surface and place 1/2 cup Cheddar on one half of the tortilla. Top with a few scoops of roasted sweet potatoes and a generous scoop of black beans. Spoon over 2 tablespoons salsa and top with 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Fold tortilla over the filling and gently press it down.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
• Place quesadilla onto hot skillet without any oil and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip quesadilla and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Repeat with remaining ingredients until all 4 quesadillas are fried up.
• Slice them in half and serve each quesadilla with a couple dollops of sour cream, fresh cilantro, and additional salsa if desired.